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Permalink Reply by Tim Garrett on April 10, 2011 at 11:13am

Gary,

The white plastic "P-shaped" clips work fine glued to the trailing edge of the main landing gear. I used cynoacrelate (aka super glue). Make sure the aluminum is very clean and the plastic is lightly scuffed up. Don't be stingy with the glue and make sure it is "fresh". Aircraft Spruce carries some cyno that is "industrial strength" that I like. I fly off grass occasionally and have never had a problem. I'm coming up on 300 hours and 5 years.

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Permalink Reply by Jim Belcher on April 10, 2011 at 4:21pm

I've heard mixed reviews on using the "stick on" clips. When I was installing the brake lines, at least one person pointed out that they'd fallen off the Zenith demonstrator, and had to be replaced. As I didn't use them, I can't verify that experience.

 

However, they do look flimsy to me. I drilled and tapped holes in the gear for #6 screws, and used these holes to mount adel clamps for the hose. I also used adel clamps to hold the hose on the fuselage, both inside and out.

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Permalink Reply by Felipe Uribe Posada on December 1, 2011 at 12:22pm

Hi, Jim,

 

Can you please describe where exactly did you locate the tapped holes, how many and how deep did you go?

 

Thanks in advance,

 

Felipe Uribe

Bogotá, Colombia

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Permalink Reply by Bill Pagan on April 10, 2011 at 4:38pm

I currently have my brake lines routed through the center tunnel out the bottom skin on each side behind the seats.  How is everybody else running them?  I am thinking of running them through the floor near the pedals and back along the bottom of the fuse.  Anybody do this?  What connectors are you using to go through the floor?

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Permalink Reply by Bob Pustell on April 11, 2011 at 10:32pm

I have not gotten to that part of the build yet, but my tentative plan is to have AN quality hose and hard tube in my brake plumbing, not the plastic line the kit provides. The current thought is to use flex lines from the master cylinders to bulkhead fittings in the floor. The bulkhead fittings will be the 90 degree type with the elbow part pointing aft along the bottom of the plane. If I go with a gun-drilled Grove main gear, the lines will go aft to the ports in the gear leg. If I go with the factory gear leg, the lines will be hard lines to the gear and then become flex lines down the gear leg to the brake, secured with #6 screws and adel clamps as Jim Belcher described. All flex lines will be stainless braid wrapped teflon lines from automotive racing supply shops, AN fittings.

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Permalink Reply by David Gallagher on April 12, 2011 at 10:46am

Bill,

 

I ran my brake lines out the bottom of the floor via a 90 degree fitting and back along the lower longeron to the gear legs.  It has worked well for me.  I did have one slight leak that came from one of the 90 degree fittings, but it has not leaked since tightening it.

 

Dave

Attachments:

• ZenithBrakeLine.jpg, 104 KB

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Permalink Reply by Jim Belcher on April 15, 2011 at 10:58am

I ran them along the sides of the fuselage, and through the floor there. The holes penetrating the fuselage for the lines have grommets in them. I used adel clamps throughout to secure the lines in position. There is no disconnect at the floor, which may prove to have been a poor choice. We'll see.

 

I hasten to emphasize that this is only one way. I might have considered running them behind the seats, and through the center console, except, in my case, the center console area is full already, with electrical and avionics wiring. I also don't like mixing a fluid line with electric wires, even though I think I remember that MIL 5606 does not conduct electricity.

 

I really like the idea of using metal line for the brake fluid instead of the plastic line, and may retrofit to that later.

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